Forever Broke
by lilkyonkyon
Summary: During another dry spell, the Bebop crew digs up an old bounty for a cheap meal. Too bad they forgot to factor in a little thing called time. Rated for language and innuendo. Further summary inside.
1. American Money

I dedicate this to my friend, pendragon4, because she took a look at this one for me. (Hiiii!)

**Title:** Forever Broke

**Setting:** The Bebop Ship, sometime after Ed's arrival

**Summary:** The Bebop crew are suffering through the longest bounty dry spell yet. When Ed discovers that a bad guy will get them food, she hacks into the police files and digs up a fugitive that was never caught. Faye is hot on his trail before Spike and Jet warn her of the consequences....

**Disclaimer:** I wasn't really capable of reading or writing when this series came out... so obviously I don't own this.

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Chapter One

**American Money**

"Howdy! How're all you three hundred thousand bounty hunters in the Sol solar system doin'?"

"It's time for _Big Shot_, the show that brings you information about fugitives!"

"As you all know, there haven't been too many bounties to catch due to a very crime-free period of time."

"Golly, I don't know whether that's good or bad!"

"Well shucks howdy, I'm going to say it's bad because there aren't any new bounties this week either!"

"Sorry!"

"But be sure to stay tuned, 'cause we've got a real—" Jet flipped the television off and leaned against the railing.

"You up, Spike-o?" he asked the poofy-haired man draped over the couch.

"'Course I am," came the tired reply. "It's hard to sleep when stomach acid is attacking your liver."

Jet chuckled. "We've all been there."

"Yeah, we'll _we_ haven't been here this long before. What's it been? Two weeks? Three?"

"Five."

"Damn," Spike muttered, letting his head loll off the couch in an effort to increase the amount of blood to his brain. All he succeeded in doing was showering cigarette ashes on the ground. Ein immediately trotted over and sniffed it to see if it was edible, but he soon sulked off, sneezing from the smoke.

Jet cleared his throat and said, "I just came to ask if you wanted to… you know… get a job or something."

"Hell no. You get a job."

"Hey, you know I can't leave the Bebop. Imagine what would happen if I left you, Faye and Ed on this ship alone."

Spike grumbled something unintelligible and massaged his rumbling stomach. "What's on the menu for tonight?"

"Same as yesterday—ice cubes and stale oyster crackers." Jet paused long enough to watch Ed walk by doing a refined imitation of a zombie. "Like I've said before," he continued when she was gone, "the options aren't gonna change unless you catch someone."

"It's hard to catch someone if there's no one to be caught," Spike muttered, easing himself into a sitting position. "By the way, where's Faye? She should be trying to break into the safe right about now."

As if on cue, there was a loud clank of metal against metal, followed by a stream of cussing.

"Ah, shit. I'll go stop her." Jet pushed himself out of his chair and jogged down the hallway, out of sight. Spike could easily hear their quarrelling.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Faye?"

"I'm fishing. What does it look like I'm doing?"

"It looks like you're trying to break into the safe. Again."

"Oh, really?" Spike chuckled at the sarcasm in her voice. "I didn't know this was a safe!"

"Cut it out, Faye. We're in the middle of the longest dry spell in bounty history and the last thing we need is for you to waste all our money in the slots."

"It is not a waste. It is for a very noble cause."

"That cause being?"

"My entertainment."

"Spike-person," a voice at Spike's elbow chimed in. He let his head roll to the side and his gaze met a pair of wide amber eyes.

"Waddaya need, Ed?"

"When will Bebop-Bebop have food again?"

"As soon as we catch a bounty," Spike told her frankly.

"O-oh!" Ed sang in understanding. "Ed gets it now. Spike-person needs a bad guy to beat up!"

"Well—"

"Radical Edward has the solution!" she interrupted, posing dramatically as if she had just conquered the coffee table. Spike waited for her to finish, but a few seconds later, all she did was dive onto Tomato and frantically pound the keyboard.

He watched her type for a bit, then said, "Don't hurt yourself," before rolling off the couch and strolling towards his other two crew members. He considered it part of his daily meditation to break up the arguments between Jet and Faye. Besides, it was more entertaining to watch them than to listen to them.

When he found the pair, they were already shouting at each other.

"The money stays here!"

"Then give me my cut!"

"Your cut doesn't exist until we're fed!"

Spike humbly blew a smoke ring. This was fun.

"But if you'd just let me—"

"Enough, Faye," Jet said, using his ISSP voice. "I don't care how little money you think you need, you're not gambling any of it away."

She opened her mouth to protest, but Ed suddenly interrupted with a squeal from down the hall. "Spike-person! Spike-person, Ed has done it!"

"What'd she do?" Faye and Jet asked in unison, forgetting their argument entirely. Spike merely shrugged, then sauntered back to the lounge with the other two following curiously.

"Spike-person," Ed grinned, "here's a bad guy!" She pointed proudly to the screen, which displayed a fuzzy image of a nondescript man smiling uncertainly at the camera.

Faye leaned over and read, "Novik, Matthew."

"Thank you, Faye," Spike said facetiously. She glowered at him before returning her attention to the screen.

"He's an embezzler from earth? He's probably just on a different planet right now; thinks he's safe. Why hasn't this one been aired?"

Jet shrugged. "Search me. Seems like some easy money, thou—"

"Dibs!" Faye interrupted. "Ed, look up the name in the phone books in the solar system."

"Okie-dokie, Faye-Faye," the girl chanted as her fingers beat out a rapid rhythm on the keyboard. Within the minute, Faye had the address in her hands.

"He's on Mars, too," she announced as she sauntered to her aircraft. "This'll take me five minutes. Embezzlers are always pussies."

"Be careful, Faye," Jet said pointlessly, as if she would listen. She blasted off towards the downtown area and left Jet and Spike on the much quieter Bebop. With a sigh, Jet sat in front of Tomato and reexamined the information on Matthew Novik. "Is it just me, or is there something suspicious about all this?" he tiredly asked Spike.

"I think it's just you," Spike said casually, rolling his cigarette between his fingers. Jet glanced at him, half-amused and half-annoyed.

"No, look at his date of birth. Look at his crime. This doesn't seem right." Spike leaned over his partner's shoulder and scanned the information.

"Huh. That's funny. You sure—"

"Positive," Jet affirmed grimly, sitting up straighter. Then he barked, "Ed, get me that bounty's phone number." He turned to his own monitor and switched on the telephone. "We've got to call Faye. Hopefully, the guy isn't home and we can get her out of this mess."

In the meantime, on the surface of Mars, Faye was strolling into the lobby of an ancient apartment complex, whistling "I'm in the Money" as she pushed the buzzer.

"Who is it?"

"Package."

The door clicked open and she slipped inside. It wasn't hard to find Novik's apartment; it was the only one on the first floor that didn't have wooden planks nailed over the doors. She was still whistling as she pulled out her gun and kicked his door.

"Put your hands behind your head! You're coming with—" Faye gasped and took an involuntary step backwards.


	2. Spokey Dokey

Second chapter, and halfway done, believe it or not. It's not a long story... it was meant to be about an episode in length. So yeah, only two more chapters. Enjoy!

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**Chapter Two**

**Spokey Dokey**

"Hey, baby, see something you like?" the man in front of her said with a wink.

Faye nearly screamed. A small, damp towel was wrapped loosely around his bony hips, and his yellowing skin clung to each individual rib. Liver spots dotted his waxy chest. This man had to be older than she was—in a completely literal sense. She lowered her weapon disgustedly, sizing up the man in front of her. He definitely wasn't a threat. He looked more like a man on his deathbed than a man wanted for embezzling millions. "Who the hell are you?" she demanded.

He grinned, showing her a graying pair of dentures. "Matthew Novik. Can I help you?" The way he said it made Faye want to gag, but she managed to keep her stomach under control.

"Yeah. Could you tell me where Matthew Novik Jr. is?"

"There is no Matthew Novik Jr. Hard to believe I divorced with a body like mine, eh?" He flexed for her, or at least, he tried to. She saw that his bicep was about as thick as her wrist.

"Listen, old man, don't make me break your hip," she threatened, brandishing her gun. "Just tell me where—" The phone rang. Both Novik and Faye stared at the telephone, completely surprised. After a moment, Faye waved at him impatiently. "What are you waiting for? It's yours; answer it."

He wandered over to the phone and began pressing buttons on the monitor. Eventually, he hit the sound-on button.

"Hello?" said a deep voice over the line.

"Hello?" Novik said loudly, pushing a few more buttons.

"Is there a woman there with you?"

"Hello? Who is this?"

"Don't worry about it," the voice shouted, clearly annoyed. "I'm looking for a woman. Her name is Faye. Is she there?"

"Who, Faye? There's no Faye here. Wait, wait…." Novik glanced at his would-be captor and said, "Is she wearing a yellow shirt?"

"If you can call it that," the voice said mildly. Faye huffed.

"Yeah, she's here." The old man turned to her and pointlessly said, "It's for you."

"Really?" she asked rhetorically before shoving him out of the way of the monitor. "Whaddaya want?"

"Faye, it's Jet," the deep voice said over the line. "Novik isn't who you think he is."

"No shit." She glanced at the old man, who was currently shuffling around the living room, looking a little lost.

"It looks like Ed dug into old ISSP records and found this guy," Jet continued. "His bounty was posted in 2022. The only reason he hasn't been brought in yet is because The Gate Accident happened only a few weeks after. His file was basically forgotten." He massaged his temple and leaned back in his chair while an enraged Faye sputtered on the line.

"You're kidding," she finally choked out. "You mean he's worth nothing?" On the other end of the telephone, Jet suppressed a smile. He could see panic written all over Faye's face, probably because she was thinking about all that gambling that she'd be missing out on.

"Not nothing… more like, next to nothing. We could probably get some nice, _fresh_ oyster crackers with his bounty."

Spike glanced up from the magazine he was looking at. "He's still got a price on his head?"

Jet nodded. "The longer he was out, the smaller the price got, but he's still about a thousand woolongs."

Smoothly, Spike tossed the magazine down and swept Jet out of the way of the monitor. "Bring him in, Faye. I need some more cigs." He then covered his ears as she screeched back, "Fuck you! I know you stole the rest of my pack! You're probably smoking one of mine right now, you bastard!" Sure enough, there was a half-smoked Virginia Slim dangling from Spike's lips. Jet guffawed. "This is my bounty!"

"Look," Jet interrupted, "just leave him there. We can probably dig up better money."

"I'm not coming back without him, and that's final!"

"Faye, don't you _dare_ bring him—"

The receiver clicked off, Jet allowed himself to groan.

"She loves getting herself into messes, doesn't she?" he asked Spike.

"Of course she does. It's Faye."

"True." He chuckled.

It took her approximately eight minutes to get back, and when she did, she stormed onto the ship, her face red with rage.

"Did you bring Novik?" Spike asked dumbly from the couch.

"Blow me, bean sprout," she answered with a growl, heading down the hallway to her room. Before she slammed her door, Faye shouted, "No one bother me tonight; I plan on getting drunk alone."

Jet poked his head out of the kitchen and exchanged a glance with Spike. "She brought him back?" Jet asked just as Spike ventured, "Where's she getting alcohol?" They both stared at each other, one frowning, one smirking. Novik suddenly stumbled in.

"Hello?" he called out before focusing his eyes owlishly on Jet. "Hello? Who are you?"

Spike raised a questioning eyebrow at Jet, who shrugged. The old man climbed down the stairs and meandered towards the former ISSP member. "Are you a policeman?" he ventured.

"You could say that," Jet replied with faint amusement. "Why do you ask?"

"I can't seem to find my apartment. Can you help me get there?"

Jet, a bit taken aback by the man's confusion, said, "Uh, why don't you sit here for a second?"

Obligingly, Novik sat back in a chair while Jet stormed off. "Faye!" he cried. "Faye, what the hell?"

Spike smiled wryly as he watched his partner leave, and when he turned back, Novik was fast asleep and snoring.

"Wow," he muttered to himself. "I think I'm jealous."

"I can't believe you!" Jet's voice boomed down the corridor. Ed's head suddenly popped up behind Spike's shoulder.

"Is that Mr. Novik?" she asked excitedly.

"Yup."

"Ed wonders if he likes Chinese checkers!" As if by magic, she pulled out a prepared game board and leapt over the couch. "Checkers, checkers, Chinese checkers, hooray!" She clapped her hands eagerly while Ein barked and Novik snored louder. Jet returned to this happy scene with a growl.

"She convinced Novik that this was a strip club," he grumbled to Spike. "He made a pass at her on the way back, so she won't even come out of her room."

The lanky man smirked. "Two birds with one stone, my friend."

"He must've forgotten the bit about the club on the way back. He's probably got senile dementia, and that's the last thing we need right now."

"Why are you complaining?" his partner said with a chuckle. "We've got a bit of money for food now, so it's not all that bad."

"His bounty's only good on Earth, Spike. We'll have to head back if we want anything."

"What?" Spike said flatly. "How long will that take? Would it even be worth it?"

Exhaling noisily, Jet massaged his temple. "We're cutting it close, but I think the profit will be a cool hundred woolongs."

"Great," he exclaimed. "Now we can afford a couple cups of ramen for dinner. Fucking fantastic." He flicked his cigarette butt on the ground and pulled himself to his feet. "In fact, I think I'll celebrate by going out tonight." The lanky bounty hunter kicked a chair in frustration on his way to the dock.

"Where're you headed?" Jet called out after him.

The door hissed shut, and Jet turned his attention to Ed. "And what are you doing?"

"Wanna play?" she asked innocently, holding up the board.


	3. Don't Bother None

**Chapter Three**

**Don't Bother None**

Jet tacked a sheet of paper up on the wall, with Faye and Spike looking on curiously. "What's this?" Spike drawled, hitching an eyebrow up lazily.

"This," Jet said as he stepped back, "is the baby-sitting schedule. We're all going to have to watch this guy in case he does something stupid."

"Like running away?" Faye asked.

"Like keeping secrets!" Ed exclaimed, springing down the stairs on her hands.

"No… more like butchering another bonsai tree," Jet corrected. His eye twitched as he said this.

"Well, who's up first?" Faye asked as she leaned in closer to the schedule. She immediately groaned. "No, not me! Why do I have to be first?" she whined.

"Because you're the one who brought him in when I told you not to."

"That's not fair!"

"It's completely fair."

"Wait, you're not on this schedule at all," Spike growled, shoving Faye aside. "How is _that_ fair?"

"Ed and I were the ones who watched him all day yesterday while the both of you got drunk off your asses. So, it fits that you two have to watch him on the way back."

"Well, someone's bitter," Faye grumbled.

Jet chose to ignore that. "He's in the living room sleeping, so it shouldn't be too big of a problem for you two." She huffed at him and stomped off, cursing colorfully. Jet then turned to Spike, who still had a sour look on his face. "I'm going to fly this thing out. Remember, you and Faye switch half-way through, okay?"

Spike merely muttered as he stalked towards his training spot, Jet smirking in triumph. He watched his friend go before he sauntered into the living room to check on the first babysitter. Jet walked in to find Faye handcuffing Novik to the couch's armrest, mumbling all the while. Everything was working out beautifully. Whistling to himself, he went to go take off.

Spike, for his part, tried to spend as much time as possible in his training session, hoping Faye might lose her temper and bump the old man off before he had to watch him. He spent almost two hours in meditation, took a longer-than-usual shower, but was disappointed when he went to take his nap in the living room. Faye and Novik were still there. It didn't even look like they had moved. In fact, they probably hadn't.

"Great," the bounty hunter muttered to himself as he draped himself over the open sofa. With one last furtive glance at the pair, he closed his eyes and relaxed. It never took him long to fall asleep, and soon he felt himself drifting off. That is, until Faye screamed.

"God, will you please shut up?" he moaned, squinting at them angrily.

"He tried to feel me up!"

"I just wanna touch them," Novik corrected. "I don't think they're real."

Protectively, her arms flew over her chest. "There is no way in hell you're touching these!"

"Faye, just let him squeeze your breasts," Spike interjected, annoyed. "What's your problem?"

She glared at him. "_My_ problem? Look, if you want to make him happy, let him squeeze yours!"

"I don't have any," he pointed out as he rolled over. "Now can you two keep it down?"

As if planned, a buzzer went off in the distance.

"Ha! Your turn, Spike!"

"Huh?" He opened his eyes to catch Faye all but running towards her room. "Hey, wait a minute!" The door hissed shut, and the all-too-familiar sound of Faye's deadbolt rang through the halls. "Damn." His eyes drifted over to Novik, who was staring at him with a puzzled look on his face.

"Charlie?" he said softly.

"Nope, sorry." Spike got up and lethargically moved closer to the old man, who was sighing deeply.

"Charlie is my only son. I haven't seen him in forty-nine years." He turned his eyes upwards to stare owlishly at Spike. "Do you have a son?"

"Uh, no." Spike shifted his weight uncomfortably. "Hey, you wanna watch TV?" he asked suddenly, in the same way a person might ask a dog if he wants a walk. Without waiting for an answer, he flipped the switch and tuned into _Big Shots_. Novik sat without complaining once, and Spike began to feel a bit relieved. This would be much easier than he thought. "Great, you watch this. I'll be right there." He pointed at the couch he was planning to take a nap on. "Okay?"

Novik didn't reply, and Spike took that as a yes. Gladly, he threw himself across the couch and drifted into a beautiful sleep.

It must've been an hour later when Spike lazily opened an eye, then jumped. Novik was missing. "What the —" His eyes found the empty handcuffs sitting neatly on the couch.

"Hi, Spike-person!" Ed called as she popped her head into his line of vision. "Mr. Novik said to tell you he has an angry tummy!" She made growling noises, causing Ein to whine next to her. "He needed a snack, so Ed showed him to the kitchen."

"What? Oh, great." Spike stretched his legs to the floor and took quick strides to the kitchen, where, lo and behold, Novik was roving through the cabinets. "Hey, old man! Get away from there! You can't have that!"

"But I'm hungry," he replied, and when he turned to face Spike, his mouth was already stuffed full of the priceless oyster crackers.

"Yeah, yeah," Spike muttered, crossing his arms in resignation. So much for dinner tonight. Well, there was a bright side: maybe if they fattened the old man up, they could eat him later. What was old man like, anyways? Hopefully not too stringy. He was still contemplating the pros and cons of cannibalism when Faye walked in and screeched. "Spike! You were supposed to watch him!"

"I was," he offered helpfully.

"You know what I mean! And now he's gone and—" She didn't finish her sentence because she saw Novik finish off the last can of beer. "No, no, not that too!" Frantically, Faye shoved him aside and dug through every cabinet, every crisper drawer, and even the places she knew Spike liked to hide food, all in search of one morsel. "He ate it all! He fucking ate everything!" She collapsed to her knees with a groan. "It's all gone. All my hard work."

"Your hard work?" Spike echoed wryly.

She conveniently didn't hear his remark. "Where's Jet? He can fix this."

As if by magic, Jet chose that moment to peer over Spike's shoulder. "God, Spike, couldn't you watch him for one second?"

"He was handcuffed to the couch. How was I supposed to know that he'd squirm his way out?"

Jet turned his attention to Faye, who had been watching them with tears in her eyes. "And you—shouldn't you be trying to steal our money by now?"

"It's my money too!" she replied almost automatically.

"Like I haven't heard that before," Jet said under his breath. Then, louder, he ordered Spike to bring Novik into the other room. "Make sure that he can't move from there," he added. Faye, he told to clean up the kitchen.

"Aw, come on!"

"It should be spotless when you're done."

"What do you want Ed and Ein to do?" the younger girl shouted, eager to help.

"I need you to find out where we're dropping Novik. We should be getting to Earth in another few hours."

"Okey-dokey!" she cried, and was soon logged on to Tomato, her fingers going faster than ever.


	4. Forever Broke

**Chapter Four**

**Forever Broke**

Ripping the tape with his teeth, Spike smoothed down the edges of the make-shift straightjacket. "There." He leaned back to examine his handywork with a sardonic smile. The old man's arms were taped to his side, and his legs were held together at the ankle. Novik snored a bit louder, but was otherwise ignorant. "Now for a little shut-eye," the bounty hunter sighed. He spread himself out and fell into another peaceful slumber.

He woke when he felt a weight pressing on his legs. Confused, he looked up to find Novik staring at him. "Charlie?" The man looked almost desperate.

"I _told_ you, I'm not him," Spike answered grumpily. "Go back to sleep."

"Charlie, I'm sorry." Novik began to cry, and Spike, though held fast by Novik's body, forgot about his position and narrowed his eyes in confusion. "I got that money for your college, but The Gate Accident ruined it all. It got to you before I had the chance—"

"Take it easy, it's okay." Spike gently pushed Novik back into a sitting position.

"I'm so sorry. I never spent a single woolong, Charlie. Not one. I was saving it all for you."

Here, Spike's eyebrow rose. "Saving it all?" he echoed. Clearly, Novik had never heard the phrase 'you can't take it with you.' But maybe that was for the best. "Do you still have it?"

"I've always had it."

The bounty hunter's mouth dropped open. Wait until he told Jet. He would shit a brick. A large, jagged one, most likely.

Novik began to take deeper breaths, frowning as he did so. In fact, he soon seemed to forget what he had said earlier. "Why can't I move my arms?"

"Uh, side effect of our flight pattern," Spike made up. Novik seemed to be satisfied with that and quickly fell back asleep. Unfortunately, Spike couldn't do the same. He leaned back and rooted around for a cigarette. The green-haired man thoughtfully puffed on it for a few minutes, watching the ceiling fan spin in lazy circles. All that money, gone. Maybe there was time to get to it. They'd just have to swipe enough gas, and maybe then—

He heard the intra-ship phone buzz and tapped the button absently.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"We'll be there in an hour. Get Novik ready."

"Roger that," he confirmed, stretching his arms behind him. He nudged the old man with his food as he cracked his back. "Hey you, come on. We're almost there." Novik only leaned away a bit, his head lolling to one side. "Wake up," he insisted, kicking him a bit harder. The man didn't stir. Fed up, Spike pushed himself off the couch and shook Novik as hard as he dared, yelling, "Get up, you old coot!"

"Keep it down!" Faye shrieked from the other room.

"Shove it, Faye!"

But Novik hadn't even sighed during this. Nor had he exhaled, for that matter.

"Shit." Spike lit a cigarette and took a quick pull before he pushed the call button to the control deck.

"What's up, Spike-o?"

"I think we've got a problem."

"What is it?"

"The old man isn't waking up."

"What?"

"I said he's—"

"I heard what you said!" Jet snapped back. "Fuck. I'll be down there in a minute."

"Love you, too," Spike said wryly after Jet slammed down the receiver. He turned back to the body and checked for a pulse. Either the old man had a fantastic resting heart rate, or he was dead. "God damn it." Spike took another drag and sat back as Jet burst into the room.

"Has he moved?" he asked urgently, shaking the body a bit for good measure.

"Nope, he's dead as disco."

"Ah shit. Why'd he have to go and die on us? And now, of any other time?" Jet sat down across from his partner and sighed morosely. "We're just under an hour from earth, and that's used up almost all of our fuel. I guess we're just going to have to hang tight down there and hope a bounty comes our way soon."

Faye wandered out onto the deck, drying her damp hair with a towel. Ed followed soon after her, Ein curled in her arms. "Hey, what's going on?" the older girl asked.

"Novik kicked the bucket on us," Jet frankly said. To prove his point, he pushed Novik with his pinky finger, and the old man collapsed to one side.

"What? He's dead?" Faye almost shouted, incredulous. "But how?"

"Heart attack, probably." Jet shrugged his shoulders. "The excitement finally got to him."

"What about my food?"

"What about it? We can still scrounge up enough for a cup of ramen or something."

Spike interrupted, "Wait, I'm not spending my money on that shit."

"Your money?!" Faye shouted back. "It's my money, too!" She glowered when both Jet and Spike snorted. "And what about Ed?" she proclaimed as her last defense. "Some of it's hers, and I'm sure she wants to eat. Right, Ed?"

All eyes involuntarily turned to the young girl who was gazing sadly at Novik's body. "Ed thinks Mr. Novik would've liked to be buried in space," the young girl said solemnly.

Everyone else blinked at her.

"How the hell would you know?" Faye finally asked.

Jet shook his head, unwilling to even argue. "Okay, Ed, okay. Let's put him in the disposal chamber and send him out." The two men managed to get Novik un-taped and in the disposal chamber. Jet even let Ed push the release button.

They then turned to the front window to watch the body float out. Strangely, they were all silent as they did so. Even Ein, after jumping on a command seat, watched the sight with a bit of reverence. Novik looked a bit lonely, out there in space, his clothes floating about him peacefully, the stars winking in the background. Bits of paper eventually began to emanate from his pockets. There must've been hundreds, and they started to spiral, drifting further and further away, like stardust after a comet.

"What're those?" Faye asked, pressing her nose to the glass.

Jet was frowning. "I don't know." They watched a bit longer, until Ed giggled aloud.

"Look at all the woolongs! Like confetti, a parade, yay!" She tossed a fistful of her own paper in the air, and Ein quickly set to barking as the young girl paraded around.

None of the other crew members noticed this.

"Woolongs?" Spike asked dumbly, squinting out the window.

"The money Mr. Novik stole! He showed it to Ed and said to keep it a secret!"

"What?!" Faye whirled and clasped her hand around Ed's shoulder. "He had money on him?!"

"All the money he stole! He invested in stock, stock went boom!" She emphasized this by making exploding noises and motions with her free hand. "Mr. Novik wanted to take it to his son. He saved all his money from the crash and hid it under his bed. He hid it in his pockets when Faye-Faye picked him up!"

Faye's eyes nearly fell out of their sockets, and she could only sputter in shock.

"How much did he have?" Spike finally asked, turning back to watch the money—their money—float away.

"Almost a million. A million confetti for poor Mr. Novik." She sniffed dolefully and tossed another handful of torn paper into the air.

Jet was speechless; Faye began to cry, pressing her hand to the glass as if longing to reach out and touch it once more. Spike pulled out his last cigarette, lit it, and somberly muttered, "Rest in peace, steak dinner. I wish I'd known you better."

_See you space cowboy . . ._

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Thus ends a little story, just for fun. Please **review** and tell me what you think! I hope you all enjoyed it.


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